As violence goes on in Bangladesh, hundreds of people hit the streets of Dhaka protesting against the attacks on the country's minority Hindus since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country earlier this week.
The protestors hurled slogans of "Who are we, Bengali Bengali", appealing for peace as they blocked an intersection of the city. The protestors carried posters and placards, demanding Bangladeshi minorities to be "saved".
Meanwhile, two Hindu organisations wrote an open letter to the head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus highlighting the attacks on minorities in the past few days. The groups, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad on Friday presented the data in an open letter to the Nobel Laureate.
As per the data presented in the letter, at least 205 attacks have taken place on members of minority communities in 52 districts since Monday, when Sheikh Hasina (76) resigned and fled to India following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.
'Staying up at night, guarding our homes and temples,' says unity council president
Nirmal Rosario, one of the three presidents of the unity council, said, "We seek protection because our lives are in a disastrous state. We are staying up at night, guarding our homes and temples. I have never seen anything like this in my life. We demand that the government restore communal harmony in the country." He asserted that the situation was deteriorating and urged Yunus to resolve the crisis by prioritising it and ending the violence.
The letter further added, "When people's victory is advancing towards its destination, we, with sorrow and heavy hearts, observe that a vested quarter is hatching a conspiracy to tarnish this achievement by carrying out unprecedented violence against minority communities." Notably, over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence in Bangladesh, that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government. With this, the deaths count rose to 560 since the anti-quota protests first started in mid-July. Meanwhile, a number of Hindu temples, households and businesses were vandalised, women assaulted and at least two Hindu leaders affiliated with Hasina's Awami League party were killed in the violence in Bangladesh after she fled the country, according to two community leaders in Dhaka.
(With agencies inputs)
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